# Is "Hard Boiled" by Frank Miller & Geof Darrow a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Hard Boiled by Frank Miller & Geof Darrow (Dark Horse, 1990) is identified by: The true first appearance is the single issue Hard Boiled #1 (Dark Horse, cover-dated September 1990), the opening chapter of a three-issue prestige-format series running 1990 to 1992. True first is the single issue Hard Boiled #1 (1990).

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- The true first appearance is the single issue Hard Boiled #1 (Dark Horse, cover-dated September 1990), the opening chapter of a three-issue prestige-format series running 1990 to 1992
- The later collected hardcover is first-thus only
- Correct publisher/imprint: Dark Horse

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Frank Miller & Geof Darrow |
| Publisher | Dark Horse |
| Year | 1990 |
| True first | world edition |
| Format | Comic / graphic novel |
| Key point | The true first appearance is the single issue Hard Boiled #1 (Dark Horse, cover-dated… |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
The true first appearance is the single issue Hard Boiled #1 (Dark Horse, cover-dated September 1990), the opening chapter of a three-issue prestige-format series running 1990 to 1992. The later collected hardcover is first-thus only.

## Is this the true first?
True first is the single issue Hard Boiled #1 (1990). Collected editions are first-thus.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Later collected printings are reprints, not the true first.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Hard Boiled* by Frank Miller & Geof Darrow a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/hard-boiled
CC BY 4.0. Part of the Canonical First-Edition Points of Issue dataset (https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/api/first-edition-titles.json). Last reviewed 2026-07-03.